Saturday, October 9, 2010

There Should Be An App for That

I want to give more. I want to teach my kids that it makes a difference when we skip that trip to Jamba Juice and give the money to those really in need.

But I need help. While I want to give, I'm still an impatient American used to instant gratification. So I have a great idea. More about that in a minute.

You know that Jesus cared about the poor, right? And they should be one of our highest priorities in life. It's not the government's job or someone else's job. If you are a Christian, it's your job.

If we are generous and share our food with the poor, we will be blessed.

If we give to the poor we will lack nothing. But if we close our eyes to them we will receive many curses.

When we are kind to the poor we lend to the LORD and will be rewarded. (This one really amazes me! It's all God's money anyway.)

But if we shut our ears to the cry of the poor, we will cry out and not be answered. *

I think there are a lot of people who care about the poor and still do nothing because they are overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problems in this world, and they feel like their small contribution won't make much of a difference.

This is not true.

Every little bit helps.

I learned recently that we spend $62 BILLION each year on soft drinks. If we gave up just a third of our soda, we could provide clean water to all 884 million people in the world who lack it.

So back to my need for instant gratification. Yes, I could tell my kids that we're not going to have soda with dinner because it not healthy, and that we're going to send the money to help someone who really needs it. I'm not sure how much they would get that.

But if I pull out my phone and had an app that allowed me to quickly and easily show them a picture of the baby chicks we're going to send to a family in Africa to start a small business, and really sent the money right then and there, don't you think that would be effective?

So to all my favorite charities - those that meet physical needs and give eternal hope through Jesus Christ - this is my request! I'd like your "gift catalogs" to be made into iphone apps. I will download it, and it will be so fun to see how our money can be better used. And really give - then and there - to make a difference!

*Proverbs 22:9, 28:27, 19:17, 21:13

Disclaimer: This type of giving is not tithing. As Christians we should order our finances in such a way that we are tithing to our local church, paying our taxes and bills, providing for our family's needs, and giving generously regularly. This is just an extra way of giving a little more.